U.W. Trustees Discuss Energy Institute

Laramie, Wy – University of Wyoming trustees areconsidering two proposals to reposition the university amid soaring energy prices and growing demand for natural gas, coal, oil and sources of renewable energy. One idea is a School of Energy Resources, which would have a dozen new professors and would oversee energy research at U-W. U-W trustees reviewed that plan Friday and they plan to votetomorrow on whether to send the proposal to the Legislature. A separate proposal would revive U-W's undergraduate program inpetroleum engineering. That plan doesn't require legislative approval, and trustees plan to vote tomorrow on reviving the program starting next school year. Both ideas have the backing of Brian Towler, chairman of the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering. Towler says U-W not only can bring back the petroleum engineering bachelor's, it has a chance to design a program that's well-suited to theindustry's needs. He says recent petroleum engineering graduates are making 50 to60 thousand dollars a year. And he says a School of Energy Resources would consolidate U-W'senergy research under one umbrella.